Serena Williams overcomes slow start to make smooth progress in Italian Open
Serena Williams and Venus Williams will face each other in the second round of the Italian Open, a clash that constitutes the first meeting between the two siblings on European clay for 17 years.
Serena fell behind 3-1 in the first set before opening her clay court season with a routine 6-4, 6-2 win over Swedish qualifier Rebecca Peterson on Monday in the first round of the Italian Open.
After a shaky start, she began to take control with her baseline power on a windy day at the Foro Italico. When she ran down a passing attempt from Peterson and replied with a cross-court winner to break for a 5-2 lead in the second set, she let out a scream and bent over as she pumped both of her fists.
Serena was playing for the first time since withdrawing ahead of her thirdround match at the Miami Open in March because of a left knee injury. The last time she had played in Rome was when she won the last of her four Italian Open trophies in 2016.
Venus, who won her only Rome title 20 years ago, defeated Elise Mertens 7-5, 3-6, 7-6 (4) after more than three hours, requiring nine match points before eliminating her Belgian opponent.
The Williams sisters’ last match on red clay came in the 2002 French Open final, won by Serena. In their last match in Rome, Venus won their second career meeting way back in the 1998 quarter-finals. “That’s crazy,” Serena said. “I vaguely remember that, so I don’t really remember ... We play each other a lot. Seems like every tournament nowadays we meet early. It is what it is.”
Serena is now a 37-year-old mother and Venus is 38. “It doesn’t change at all. We’re just as fierce, Venus is just as fierce,” Serena said. “We both really want to get some match play. We’ll both do the best that we can.”
Serena leads the career series 18-12. “I know that she’s going to play really well and compete really well,” Venus said. “That’s a given.”
Meanwhile, Johanna Konta will face American Sloane Stephens in the second round after a straight-sets win over her compatriot Alison Riske. Konta took fewer than 90 minutes to defeat Riske 6-4 6-1 in the first round on Monday.
The British No 1 beat 2017 US Open champion Stephens in Brisbane in January, their only previous meeting. Others advancing on the women’s side included Dominika Cibulkova, Katerina Siniakova and Yulia Putintseva.
In the men’s draw, Kyle Edmund bowed out after a first-round defeat to Fernando Verdasco. Edmund took the first set 6-4, but Spaniard Verdasco hit back to win the second and third 6-4, 6-2 and wrapped up victory in two hours and 23 minutes. The 2010 Rome semi-finalist, who converted five of the 16 break points he earned against the Briton, will meet fifth seed Dominic Thiem in the second round.
In other action, 13th-seeded Borna Ćorić rallied past Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 in a clash of two of the top young players on tour. Auger-Aliassime struggled with his serve, hitting seven double-faults to Ćorić’s one.